Fighting Spirit Review: New Japan G1 Climax 2014 Finals

Date:  August 10th, 2014
Location: Seibu Dome, Saitama, Japan 
Announced Attendance: 18,000 

After eleven days of block matches, we have finally reached the final day of the G1 Climax! Okada and Nakamura won their respective blocks, so they will face off in the main event. Styles and Tanahashi came in second in their blocks, so they will compete to find out who came in third. There are also three other singles matches from the G1 Climax participants, as well as a IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match. Plus, Maria Kanellis is here! I love her, she was my favorite ‘diva’ back in the day but I haven’t seen her in years since I don’t really watch Ring of Honor. Just as a reminder, here were the final standings in the G1 Climax:

The matches on today’s card are:

– Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask, and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., TAKA Michinoku, and El Desperado
– Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows, and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, and BUSHI
– Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, and Shelton Benjamin vs. Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba, and YOSHI-HASHI
– Adam Cole and Michael Bennett vs. Jushin Thunder Liger and Captain New Japan
– IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: KUSHIDA and Alex Shelley vs. Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish
– Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomoaki Honma
– Karl Anderson vs. Tomohiro Ishii
– Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto
– AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
– G1 Climax – Final: Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Let’s get started, we are almost done!

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask, and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., TAKA Michinoku, and El Desperado
The bad guys attack before the match officially starts, with Smith and Archer staying in the ring with Tenzan and Kojima. Tenzan and Kojima get the upperhand and they take it to ringside as well, while in the ring Tiger Mask battles Desperado. Backbreaker by Tiger Mask but Archer comes into the ring as does Michinoku. Tiger Mask is thrown in the corner and Michinoku hits a jumping knee in the corner. Cannonball by Desperado, cover, but it gets a two count. Desperado tags in Archer, Archer picks up Tiger Mask and he hits a scoop slam. Archer grabs Tiger Mask and he hits another scoop slam. Archer tags in Smith, they pick up Tiger Mask and hit a double shoulderblock. They both go off the ropes and hit a splash/leg drop combination, Kojima comes in the ring to help but Smith throws him out. Smith picks up Tiger Mask and hits a backdrop suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Smith picks up Tiger Mask and goes for a suplex but Tiger Mask lands on his feet. Tiger Mask tags in Kojima, and Kojima kicks Smith in the corner. Chops by Kojima, Irish whip, and Kojima hits a jumping elbow smash. Kojima goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving elbow drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kojima picks up Smith but Smith elbows him and they trade shots. Kojima throws Smith in the corner and Tenzan hits the calf branding. Archer comes in the ring, Tenzan and Kojima Irish whip him but Archer hits a double lariat. Archer waits for Tenzan to get up and hits Mongolian Chops, Archer goes off the ropes but Tenzan hits a heel kick. Kojima and Smith are back in and Kojima hits the Koji Cutter before tagging in Taguchi. Taguchi comes in the ring with a crossbody but Smith catches him and slams Taguchi to the mat. All the heels run in, Taguchi is thrown in the corner and everyone hits a running strike. PK by Michinoku, cover, but Kojima breaks it up. Kojima elbows everyone but Archer pushes him against the ropes, Archer goes for a lariat but Kojima ducks and lariats Archer out of the ring. Double Irish whip to Smith by Kojima and Tenzan, and they hit a 3D. Michinoku knocks them out of the ring but Taguchi comes in the ring, Taguchi goes for a suplex but Michinoku lands on his feet. Jumping kick by Taguchi, he grabs Michinoku and nails the Dodon. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask, and Ryusuke Taguchi

Match Thoughts: This was a nothing match, literally. I mean it was nice to get some more wrestlers on the card but needless to say eight wrestlers in a six minute match doesn’t leave them a lot of time to do much. Just a standard New Japan opener with not a whole lot interesting going on. Score: 4.0

Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows, and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, and BUSHI
Gallows starts off with Nakanishi. Side headlock by Gallows, Nakanishi Irish whips out of it and they collide with no result. Nakanishi goes off the ropes but he can’t knock Gallows over, both wrestlers go off the ropes but again both stay up. Nakanishi goes off the ropes but Gallows hits a big boot, sending Nakanishi to the mat. Mounted punches by Gallows and he picks up Nakanishi, chops by Nakanishi but Gallows hits a scoop slam. Gallows goes off the ropes and goes for a splash, but Nakanishi rolls out of the way. Polish Hammer by Nakanishi, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits a missile dropkick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Gallows punches Nakanishi back in the corner, Gallows tags in Takahashi and Nakanishi tags in BUSHI. Takahashi rakes BUSHI in the eyes, Irish whip, but BUSHI springs off his back and hits a hurricanrana. BUSHI picks up Takahashi, he goes off the ropes but Takahashi drops him onto the top rope. Takahashi kicks BUSHI out of the ring, as Fale and Gallows come in to knock their opponents off the apron. Takahashi goes outside with BUSHI and throws him into the guardrail. Takahashi picks up BUSHI and drops him chest-first onto the guardrail. Takahashi gets back in as BUSHI is slid back in, Takahashi picks up BUSHI and tags in Gallows. Gallows punches BUSHI in the corner, Irish whip, and Gallows throws BUSHI to the mat. Elbow drop by Gallows and he hits two more and tags in Fale. Fale picks up BUSHI and punches him back into the corner. Irish whip by Fale but BUSHI moves when he charges in, and BUSHI tags in Nagata. Nagata kicks Fale in the leg, Irish whip, and Nagata slaps Fale. Dropkick to the knee by Nagata, Gallows comes in the ring but he eats an exploder. Takahashi comes in, Irish whip to Nagata, reversed, and Nagata hits an overhead suplex. Nagata Irish whips Fale, reversed, and Fale hits a body avalanche. Body press by Fale, cover, but it gets a two count. Fale picks up Nagata and goes for a suplex, but Nagata lands on his feet. Seated armbar by Nagata but Takahashi breaks it up. Nagata throws Takahashi out of the ring, he goes off the ropes but Fale catches him with a shoulderblock. Fale tags in Takahashi while BUSHI is tagged in, and BUSHI hits a missile dropkick. BUSHI picks up Takahashi, he goes off the ropes and hits the Oklahoma Roll for a two count. Suzuki charges Takahashi in the corner but Takahashi moves and hits a big boot. Takahashi grabs BUSHI and picks him up but BUSHI rolls down his back and rolls up Takahashi for a two count. Takahashi picks up BUSHI but BUSHI kicks Takahashi back, BUSHI goes to Takahashi but Takahashi hits an Olympic Slam. Cover, but it gets a two. Takahashi picks up BUSHI and hits a powerbomb into the corner turnbuckles, he then grabs BUSHI and hits the Miami Shine. Cover, and Takahashi picks up the three count. Your winners: Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows, and Yujiro Takahashi

Match Thoughts: About the same as the last match. The good thing about these matches is it establishs who the different factions are, but besides that the action itself has much to be desired. The plus side of course is there isn’t any downtime since the wrestlers can tag in and out at will, but it still isn’t much of a wrestling match. Score: 5.0

Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, and Shelton Benjamin vs. Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba, and YOSHI-HASHI
Suzuki and company attack their opponents before the bell rings and all six wrestlers end up outside of the ring. Benjamin and YOSHI-HASHI get back in the ring, Irish whip by Benjamin to the corner but YOSHI-HASHI avoids the splash and hits a lariat. Elbow by Benjamin, Irish whip, but YOSHI-HASHI ducks the lariat and hits a neckbreaker. Club to the back by YOSHI-HASHI but Suzuki grabs YOSHI-HASHI’s arm over the top rope in an armbar. Suzuki takes YOSHI-HASHI outside and roughs him up at ringside, Benjamin picks up YOSHI-HASHI back in the ring and hits a scoop slam. Another scoop slam by Benjamin, he picks up YOSHI-HASHI and hits a military press slam. Cover by Benjamin, but it gets a two count. Benjamin tags in Iizuka, Iizuka picks up YOSHI-HASHI and throws him out of the ring. Iizuka gets a chair and hits YOSHI-HASHI in the stomach and then in the back with it. Iizuka picks up YOSHI-HASHI and slides him into the ring, and Iizuka chokes YOSHI-HASHI. Iizuka rakes at YOSHI-HASHI’s face, and Iizuka stomps on YOSHI-HASHI. Iizuka picks up YOSHI-HASHI and goes for a suplex but YOSHI-HASHI blocks it, YOSHI-HASHI lands on his feet, Iizuka goes off the ropes but YOSHI-HASHI hits a lariat. YOSHI-HASHI tags in Yano, and Yano unties the corner turnbuckle. Iizuka chokes Yano in the corner, Irish whip, reversed by Yano and Iizuka goes into the exposed corner. Yano charges in, Iizuka moves but Yano hits a drop toehold into the exposed corner. Iizuka kicks Yano from behind, stomps by Iizuka and he goes off the ropes, but Yano hits an atomic drop. Iizuka returns the favor and both wrestlers crawl to their corners. Sakuraba and Suzuki are tagged in and they trade slaps, waistlock by Suzuki but Sakuraba reverses it into an armbar. Sakuraba goes for a cross armbreaker but Suzuki reverses it into a cross armbreaker attempt of his own. Kneelock by Sakuraba but Suzuki applies a sleeper. Sakuraba’s teammates break up the move, and Sakuraba applies the cross armbreaker to Suzuki. Suzuki inches to the ropes and forces a break, and Sakuraba applies a keylock near the ropes. Knee by Suzuki and he twists Sakuraba in the ropes, applying a sleeper. Eye rake by Suzuki and he re-applies the sleeper in the ropes, the referee tries to get him off but Suzuki throws the referee down. Suzuki re-applies the sleeper while Sakuraba is twisted in the ropes, and he ends up getting disqualified. Your winners by DQ: Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba, and YOSHI-HASHI

Match Thoughts: Yano not being on the cheating heel team just seems dirty and wrong. At least they took the opportunity to actually progress a storyline during this random six man tag. I am not super stoked for a Suzuki vs. Sakuraba feud but at least it gave this match a purpose, and the DQ loss will only further the feud, assuming it ever becomes more than just a mid-card tag team match thing. Better than the last few matches since at least it had a point. Score: 6.0

Adam Cole and Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger and Captain New Japan
Liger and Cole start things off. Tie-up, waistlock by Liger and he applies a wristlock, headscissors by Liger on the mat but Cole gets out of it. They apply quick holds before both wrestlers return to their feet. Wristlock by Cole, drop toehold by Liger and he applies a stretch hold. Cole gets out of it and goes for Liger’s leg, but Liger gets out of it and they return to their feet again. Cole tags in Bennett while Liger tags in Captain New Japan. Tie-up, side headlock by Captain New Japan, Bennett Irish whips out of it and Captain New Japan shoulderblocks him down. Bennett rolls out of the ring but Captain New Japan goes out after him, but Bennett hides behind Maria. Maria distracts Captain New Japan with her boobs so that Cole can attack Captain New Japan from behind. Bennett and Captain New Japan get back in the ring, Bennett goes up to the second turnbuckle but Captain New Japan rolls out of the way of the elbow drop. Captain New Japan punches Bennett, Irish whip, and Cole knees Captain New Japan from the apron. Waistlock by Bennett, reversed, drop toehold by Bennett and Cole kicks Captain New Japan from the floor. Stomps by Bennett and he tags in Cole. Cole drops a forearm on Captain New Japan’s head, he knocks Captain New Japan into the corner, Irish whip, Cole picks up Captain New Japan out of the corner and hits a snap suplex. Cole picks up Captain New Japan and tags in Bennett, Bennett grabs Captain New Japan and punches him in the face. Leg drop by Bennett, cover, but it gets a two count. Bennett tags in Cole and he stomps Captain New Japan in the stomach. Cole picks up Captain New Japan and clubs him in the back. Reverse chinlock by Cole but Captain New Japan gets a foot on the ropes. Bennett comes in the ring, Captain New Japan goes for a double shoulderblock but both Cole and Bennett move out of the way.

Bennett tags in Cole, and Cole hits Captain New Japan into the corner. Captain New Japan fights back, he goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock onto Cole. Captain New Japan tags in Liger, and Liger hits a Shotei on both Cole and Bennett. Another one for Cole, he puts him on the top turnbuckle and hits a Frankensteiner. Liger picks up Cole and goes for a suplex but Cole knees out of it, waistlock by Liger but Cole kicks him back and delivers a Shining Wizard. Cole charges Liger in the corner but Liger kicks him back. Another kick by Liger, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Cole hits a superkick as Liger jumps off. Cover by Cole but it gets a two count. Cole goes for the figure four but Liger hits an inside cradle for a two count. Cole goes off the ropes and both he and Liger hit lariats on each other. Captain New Japan and Bennett are tagged in, and Captain New Japan hits a shoulderblock. Captain New Japan goes off the ropes, and Bennett hits a spear. Cover, but it gets a two count. Bennett picks up Captain New Japan but Captain New Japan hits a back bodydrop. Captain New Japan picks up Bennett and he hits a scoop slam. Captain New Japan goes up to the top turnbuckle but Bennett rolls out of the way of the diving headbutt. Bennett waits for Captain New Japan to get up but Captain New Japan catches him with the Hira End. Cover, but it gets a two count. Maria gets on the apron to distract Captain New Japan, which naturally works, and Bennett rolls him up from behind for a two count. Bennett picks up Captain New Japan and he drops him with a piledriver. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Adam Cole and Michael Bennett

Match Thoughts: So this was wretched. I haven’t seen a lot of Cole or Bennett (if any at all) so I was looking forward to seeing some new wrestlers, but they turned this into a nothing match. Now I see why Captain New Japan was in the match, they needed a fool that is easily distracted by hot white women, but the match would have been a lot better if another wrestler was in his place and Maria didn’t get involved. It just felt so 90s having a wrestler be distracted by a pretty girl on the apron leading right to a victory. But even without that it wasn’t much of a match, just basic strikes and no real structure to it. Disappointing. Score: 2.5

(c) KUSHIDA and Alex Shelley vs. Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish
KUSHIDA and O’Reilly start things off.  They jockey for the advantage on the mat, O’Reilly goes for KUSHIDA’s arm but KUSHIDA gets out of it.  Side headlock by O’Reilly, KUSHIDA Irish whips out of it but O’Reilly shoulderblocks him down.  O’Reilly goes off the ropes, he trips KUSHIDA and goes off the ropes, and KUSHIDA delivers a dropkick.  KUSHIDA applies an armbar and tags in Shelley.  Shelley applies a wristlock and tags KUSHIDA back in, wristlock by KUSHIDA and he tags in Shelley. They take turns applying wristlocks on O’Reilly, Fish comes in the ring but he is kicked by Shelley and KUSHIDA.  Shelley goes back to O’Reilly and applies an armbar, Irish whip by O’Reilly, Shelley drops O’Reilly on the apron, then KUSHIDA comes in the ring and kicks both O’Reilly and Fish off the apron to the floor.  KUSHIDA and Shelley go to the ropes and hits pescados down onto O’Reilly and Fish.  Shelley and KUSHIDA get back in the ring with O’Reilly, double Irish whip and they hits a double team move.  Cover by Shelley but it gets a two count.  Shelley picks up O’Reilly, chop by Shelley, Irish whip, but O’Reilly hangs onto the ropes and bails out of the ring.  Shelley goes out after him, O’Reilly comes back in and tags in Fish, and they double team Shelley.  Cover by Fish but it gets a two count.  Wristlock by Fish and he tags in O’Reilly.  O’Reilly punches Shelley in the corner and hits an armbreaker, and Fish knees Shelley from the apron.  Backdrop suplex by Fish to Shelley, cover, but it gets a two count.  Fish picks up Shelley, snapmare; Fish goes out to the apron and hits a senton.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Fish picks up Shelley and tags in O’Reilly.  Club to the back by O’Reilly and he applies an armbar to Shelley.  Shelley elbows out of the corner, but O’Reilly throws Shelley to the mat.  Shelley rolls out of the ring and knocks back Fish, then he snaps O’Reilly’s neck over the top rope.  Shelley gets on the apron and goes for a slingshot elbow but O’Reilly catches Shelley and applies a submission.  Shelley quickly gets to the ropes and O’Reilly tags in Fish, wristlock by Fish and he applies an armbar.  Fish knocks KUSHIDA off the apron, Shelley hits a hiptoss and goes for a tag but KUSHIDA is still on the floor.  Step-up enzigieri by Shelley and he tags in KUSHIDA, KUSHIDA hits a swandive lariat on O’Reilly and hits another lariat.

Fish charges KUSHIDA, he knocks KUSHIDA to the apron but KUSHIDA kicks Fish.  KUSHIDA jumps back in the ring but Fish punches KUSHIDA in the stomach, double Irish whip to KUSHIDA but he hands a handstand elbow strike on both O’Reilly and Fish.  Fish and O’Reilly fall out of the ring, Shelley comes in and both Shelley and KUSHIDA hit baseball slides which send Fish and O’Reilly over the guardrail.  Shelley goes out after him and holds Fish and O’Reilly, KUSHIDA goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a plancha over the guardrail down to the floor.  KUSHIDA slides O’Reilly back into the ring, Shelley goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits a diving body press while KUSHIDA hits a standing moonsault.  Cover by KUSHIDA, but it gets a two count.  KUSHIDA picks up O’Reilly and puts him on his shoulders, Shelley goes up to the top turnbuckle but O’Reilly hits Shelley down.  Kick and a knee by O’Reilly to KUSHIDA and he hits a leg sweep.  O’Reilly goes out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick out of the ring onto Shelley.  Fish gets in the ring, KUSHIDA kicks Fish back and goes up to the top turnbuckle but Shelley grabs him from the apron.  Fish goes up top with KUSHIDA and he hits an avalanche Falcon Arrow.  Cover by Shelley but it gets a two count.  O’Reilly picks up KUSHIDA but Shelley comes in the ring, Fish knocks him back and Fish hits an elbow on Shelley in the corner.  Backbreaker by Fish to Shelley and O’Reilly comes off the top turnbuckle with a leg drop.  Kicks by O’Reilly to KUSHIDA, he ducks an enzigieri and he hits a brainbuster onto KUSHIDA.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  O’Reilly applies a cross armbreaker and Fish comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving headbutt.  O’Reilly keeps the arm submission applied but KUSHIDA rolls out of it.  O’Reilly clubs on KUSHIDA but KUSHIDA elbows him back, KUSHIDA goes off the ropes but O’Reilly knees him in the chest.  O’Reilly applies a front sleeper but Shelley goes up top and breaks it up with a doublestomp.  Fish comes in the ring but he is kicked by KUSHIDA and Shelley hits a Shiranui.  Shelley kicks O’Reilly, KUSHIDA gets up and he boots O’Reilly in the head.  KUSHIDA goes off the ropes but O’Reilly hits a tilt-a-whirl into the Hoverboard Lock.  Shelley holds back Fish and hits a tope suicida on him out of the ring.  Back in the ring, O’Reilly is unable to get to the ropes and is forced to submit to KUSHIDA.  Your winners and still champions:  KUSHIDA and Alex Shelley

Match Thoughts:  This was a bit disappointing for me.  It wasn’t a bad match, it just started really slowly and they didn’t take advantage of the fact they could have had a really different match than what the rest of the card was presenting.  New Japan fans had only seen heavyweight singles matches for weeks, but this match didn’t do much to make the tag match seem like a special title match.  Once they stopped wasting time the match did get more exciting and it was entertaining, it was just more dialed down than I was expecting.  Score:  6.0

Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomoaki Honma
Tie-up to start, Naito pushes Honma into the ropes and goes for a punch but Honma ducks it, chops by Honma and he goes off the ropes, but Naito avoids the headbutt attempt.  Stomps by Naito, Irish whip, but Honma hits a hiptoss.  Honma goes for another falling headbutt but Naito moves out of the way again.  Naito elbows Honma, snapmare, and Naito applies a reverse chinlock.  Elbow to the head by Naito, snapmare, he goes off the ropes and hits a senton.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Naito picks up Honma, Honma elbows him and goes off the ropes, and Honma hits a vertical suplex.  Honma chops Naito into the corner, Irish whip, and Honma hits a jumping elbow.  Face crusher by Honma and he finally hits the falling headbutt.  Honma picks up Naito and throws him into the corner, reversed, and Naito hits a neckbreaker.  Naito goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.  Naito sweeps Honma’s leg out in the corner and hits a slingshot dropkick.  Naito picks up Honma and puts him on the top turnbuckle, Naito joins him but Honma slides off and hits a powerbomb.  Honma picks up Naito and drops him with a brainbuster, cover, but it gets a two count.  Honma goes up to the top turnbuckle but Naito rolls out of the way of the diving headbutt.  Elbow by Honma but Naito returns fire and they trade shots.  Slap by Naito, he goes off the ropes but Honma hits a jumping headbutt.  Honma picks up Naito and goes for the Fire Thunder Driver but Naito slides down his back, elbow by Honma but Naito hits a release German suplex.  Kick by Naito, Irish whip, reversed, Honma hits the Honma Clutch but it gets a two count.  Naito goes off the ropes but Honma elbows him, Honma goes off the ropes again but Naito catches him with an enzigieri.  German suplex hold by Naito, but Honma gets a shoulder up.  Naito waits for Honma to get up and hits a sliding kick, Naito picks up Honma and hits a reverse DDT.  Naito goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Stardust Press, cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Tetsuya Naito

Match Thoughts:   Poor Honma, he can’t even pick up a win after the G1 Climax was over.  Both of these guys are a bit stale after watching 10 of their singles matches, as this one had the same basic format as all of their other matches.  There wasn’t anything actively wrong with the match, it was just another mid-card match with nothing to elevate it above that.  Score:  5.5

Karl Anderson vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Anderson hits Ishii with a forearm to the nose before the match starts and stomps him on the apron.  Jumping boot to the arm by Anderson and he rams Ishii’s head into the ring post.  Ishii’s nose is bleeding from the first elbow smash as Takahashi hits Ishii around the ring.  Ishii slides back into the ring, stomps by Anderson and Ishii rolls back out of the ring.  Ishii gets back in, Anderson picks him up and elbows Ishii in the shoulder.  Eye rake by Anderson and he kicks Ishii in the shoulder.  Scoop slam by Anderson but Ishii avoids the senton.  Anderson gets up in the corner, he avoids Anderson’s charge and kicks Ishii in the shoulder. Elbows by Anderson and he applies and arm wringer, but Ishii elbows Anderson to the mat.  Irish whip by Ishii from the corner, reversed, Ishii moves when Anderson charges in and he hits a release German suplex.  Ishii puts Anderson up on the top turnbuckle and joins him, but as he goes for the delayed superplex Ishii can’t hold Anderson up and they both fall to the mat.  Ishii goes off the ropes but Anderson connects with a leg lariat, he picks up Ishii and hits a sit-down powerbomb.  Cover, but it gets a two count. Anderson picks up Ishii and goes for the Swivel Gun Stun but Ishii gets out of it, but Anderson hits the move anyway.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Anderson waits for Ishii to get up and goes for the Gun Stun but Ishii pushes him off and hits a lariat to the back of Anderson’s head.  Elbows by Ishii but Anderson returns fire, Ishii goes off the ropes but Anderson does as well and goes for the Gun Stun.  Ishii gets out of it and he headbutts Anderson to the mat.  Ishii goes off the ropes and he nails a lariat, cover, but it only gets a two count.  Ishii picks up Anderson and hits the brainbuster, cover, but Takahashi pulls the referee out of the ring.  He gets in the ring and hits a lariat onto Anderson and pulls on Ishii’s arm.  YOSHI-HASHI runs down and he hits a lariat onto Takahashi, and both rolls out to the floor to continue fighting.  In the ring, jumping kick by Anderson and he hits the Bernard Driver.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Anderson measures Ishii and goes for the Gun Stun, but Ishii blocks it.  Elbow by Ishii and he goes for a brainbuster, but Anderson reverses it into a Gun Stun.  Cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Karl Anderson

Match Thoughts:  As if Ishii wasn’t banged up enough, Anderson promptly broke Ishii’s nose it looked like on the very first move of the match.  Takahashi pulling the referee out of the ring should have been a DQ, even in New Japan, but for some reason it just kinda got glazed over.  Ishii’s bleeding nose through the entire match did add some drama which probably sucked for him but did make it more interesting to watch.  They are lucky no one got hurt on the botched superplex, with Ishii in the condition he was in, probably not a great idea to try.  But a good hard-hitting match even if it did have its flaws.  Score:  6.5

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto
Tie-up to start, Shibata pushes Goto into the ropes and slaps him before backing off.  Tie-up, Goto pushes Shibata into the ropes and he slaps Shibata.  Elbows by Goto but Shibata elbows him back and they trade shots.  Shibata goes off the ropes but Goto hits an elbow, Goto goes off the ropes but Shibata boots him.  Both men go off the ropes and elbow each other, sending both to their knees.  Back up, elbows by Shibata but Goto throws Shibata into the corner and hits a series of elbows.  Irish whip by Goto, reversed, and Shibata hits a jumping boot.  Elbows by Shibata in the corner and he runs to the other corner, lariat by Goto but Shibata elbows Goto down into the corner.  Shibata gets a running start but Goto hits a spinning heel kick.  Shibata strikes Goto back and both men are out on the mat.  Shibata elbows Goto down in the corner and he hits a running dropkick.  Shibata picks up Goto but Goto hits a backdrop suplex.  Goto picks up Shibata and hits a release German suplex but Shibata comes back with a backdrop suplex and a German suplex of his own.  Kick to the back by Shibata, he goes off the ropes but Goto gets him up and hits the Ushikoroshi.  Goto hits the PK and Shibata rolls out of the ring but comes back after a moment, kicks by Goto to the chest, he picks up Shibata and goes for a suplex but Shibata blocks it and delivers the Go 2 Sleep.  Late cover, but it only gets a two count.  Shibata picks up Goto but Goto plants him with a Shouten Kai.  He also covers late and also gets a two count.  They trade elbows, and Goto levels Shibata with a slap to the face.  Goto picks up Shibata and hits a series of elbows but Shibata nails the spinning chop to the face.  Shibata picks up Goto, he goes off the ropes and goes for the PK, but Goto catches his foot.  Slap by Shibata but Goto picks him up and hits the Ura Shouten.  Goto picks up Shibata and goes for the Shouten but Shibata lands on his feet and applies a rear choke.  Goto elbows out of it, but Shibata gets Goto on his shoulders and hits the Go 2 Sleep.  PK by Shibata, cover, and he picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Katsuyori Shibata

Match Thoughts:  This was a fun match, these two have good chemistry.  Their finishers not ending the match the first time didn’t hurt anything since both wrestlers were too hurt to make a quick cover.  The hits were hard, of course, since it was a Shibata match and they kept it up the entire match.  The ‘fighting spirit’ was a bit much for me in the middle of the match but besides that, this was very entertaining.  Score:  7.0

AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Wristlock by Tanahashi to start and he applies a side headlock.  Styles tries to Irish whip out of the hold but Tanahashi keeps it locked on, he succeeds the second time but Tanahashi hits a shoulderblock.  Tanahashi goes off the ropes but Styles hits an armdrag, Tanahashi then hits one and they trade holds, but neither can get an advantage.  Tie-up, Styles pushes Tanahashi into the corner and knees him in the stomach.  Irish whip by Styles but Tanahashi elbows him when he charges in and he hits a rebound crossbody.  Styles bails out of the ring but returns after a moment, Irish whip by Styles, reversed, Styles kicks Tanahashi’s kick and goes off the ropes, and Styles delivers a dropkick.  Styles picks up Tanahashi and he hits a backbreaker.  Styles picks up Tanahashi again and he hits a scoop slam.  Knee drop by Styles, cover, but it gets a two count.  Punches by Tanahashi but Styles hits him into the corner, Irish whip, reversed, but Styles avoids the splash attempt.  Tanahashi ends up crotched in the ropes and Styles shakes the ropes until he falls back into the ring.  Reverse chinlock by Styles but Tanahashi elbows out of it, knee by Styles, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, but Styles elbows Tanahashi back.  Chop by Styles, he throws Tanahashi into the corner but Tanahashi fights out of it.  Styles goes for the Stylin’ DDT but Tanahashi flips out of it and drives Styles back into the corner.  Tanahashi charges Styles but Styles kicks him, he goes out to the apron to do a springboard move but Tanahashi pushes Styles out of the ring to the floor.  Tanahashi goes out after him but Styles drives him into the guardrail.  Tanahashi Irish whips Styles into the guardrail and then jumps over the guardrail, hitting a crossbody onto Styles.  They make their way back to ringside and are able to beat the twenty count.  Elbows by Tanahashi and Styles, Styles goes off the ropes but Tanahashi slaps him.  Irish whip by Styles and he hits the Sling Blade.  Full nelson by Tanahashi, Styles gets out of it but Tanahashi hits the trapped German suplex hold for a two count.  Scoop slam by Tanahashi, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Styles knocks him off.  Styles goes for the Styles Clash but Tanahashi gets out of it.  Styles picks up Tanahashi and hits a neckbreaker.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Styles picks up Tanahashi but Tanahashi picks him up and puts Styles out on the apron.  Styles elbows Tanahashi back and hits a swandive elbow smash.  Jawbreaker by Tanahashi, he goes for an Irish whip but Styles reverses it.  Tanahashi goes for a German suplex but Styles lands on his feet, dragon suplex hold by Tanahashi but it gets a two count.  Tanahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Styles hits him, Styles joins Tanahashi on the top turnbuckle and he hits a top rope hurricanrana.  Styles picks up Tanahashi and he goes for the Styles Clash, Tanahashi blocks it but Styles kicks Tanahashi in the back.  He goes for it again, but he has trouble getting Tanahashi up so he drops him on his head.  Styles goes up to the top turnbuckle but Tanahashi gets his knees up when he goes for a body press.  Tanahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle and he goes for a High Fly Flow, but Styles gets up his knees as well.  Styles elbows Tanahashi while they are on their knees, Tanahashi elbows him back and hits an uppercut, but Styles comes back with the Pele Kick.  Styles picks up Tanahashi and he nails the Bloody Sunday.  Styles picks up Tanahashi and goes for the Styles Clash, but Tanahashi reverses it with a rolling cradle and picks up the three count!  Your winner:  Hiroshi Tanahashi

Match Thoughts:  New Japan’s thing of having Tanahashi win with cradles is weird.  I see that as a move for Jr. Heavyweights, or underdogs, not one of the aces of the company.  It isn’t a bad way to win, it just doesn’t feel like a face champion method of picking up victories.  Anyway this match was fine but rather random.  Selling was suspect at best and there wasn’t any rhyme or reason to it.  On the plus side there were some big moves here which made it feel important (not sure where the random Gansobomb came from), and both of these guys have lots of energy so the action was non-stop.  Not a classic by any means but entertaining overall.  Score:  6.5

Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
This is the Finals of the 2014 G1 Climax. Waistlock by Okada, Nakamura reverses it into an arm wringer but Okada reverses it back.  Nakamura flips out of the hold and applies a hammerlock into a side headlock takedown, but Okada gets out of it and both men return to their feet.  They jockey for position, Okada pushes Nakamura into the ropes and he gives a clean break.  Tie-up, Nakamura takes Okada to the mat and applies a kneelock.  Nakamura gets in the side mount as Okada rolls back up, Nakamura pushes Okada into the ropes but Okada applies a front facelock before hitting a DDT.  Snapmare by Okada, he goes off the ropes and delivers a sliding kick.  Nakamura rolls out of the ring and Okada goes out after him, and Okada twists on Nakamura’s head while it is in the guardrail.  Okada slides Nakamura back into the ring, he picks him up and hits a scoop slam.  Okada goes out to the apron and hits the senton atomico, he covers Nakamura with one foot but the referee doesn’t count it.  Okada picks up Nakamura and he hits a neckbreaker.  Cover, but it only gets a one count.  Okada applies a cross-arm submission but Nakamura gets a foot on the ropes to force a break.  Okada picks up Nakamura and throws him into the corner, Irish whip, but Nakamura moves when Okada charges in.  Elbow by Nakamura but Okada returns fire and they trade shots.  Kick by Okada and he hits an uppercut, but Nakamura knees him in the stomach.  Enzigieri by Nakamura and he knees down Okada in the corner.  Nakamura chokes Okada with his boot, he gets a running start but Okada moves out of the way of the knee attempt.  Nakamura kicks Okada back and hits a jumping kick, cover, but it gets a two count.  Nakamura picks up Okada and puts him across the ropes in the corner, and Nakamura hits a running knee in the corner. Okada falls out of the ring, Nakamura goes out after him and hangs his head over the edge. Running knee to the chest by Nakamura, he gets on the apron and hits a kneedrop to the back of Okada’s head. Nakamura pulls Okada back out of the ring as he gets in it, Okada returns as well and Nakamura toys with Okada as he gets to his feet. Kick to the chest by Nakamura, snapmare, and Nakamura hits a kneedrop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Nakamura waits for Okada to get up and goes for a kick, Okada catches it and spins him around, but Nakamura kicks Okada into the corner. Nakamura gets up on the top turnbuckle but Okada dropkicks him and Nakamura falls out of the ring to the floor. Okada goes outside the ring and he throws Nakamura into the guardrail. Big boot by Okada, he picks up Nakamura and drapes his legs over the guardrail before hitting a DDT on the floor.

Okada picks up Nakamura and slides him into the ring, he gets back in as well and hits a scoop slam. Okada goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits a diving elbow drop. Okada picks up Nakamura and goes for the Rainmaker but Nakamura ducks it and hits the Backstabber. Elbow by Nakamura and Okada returns fire and they trade shots. Flapjack by Okada, he goes for the Red Ink but Nakamura blocks it and applies a sleeper. Nakamura applies the cross armbreaker but Okada gets a foot on the ropes. Stomps by Nakamura, he picks up Okada and hits a front suplex. Knees to the head by Nakamura, he picks up Okada and hits the inverted powerslam. Nakamura waits for Okada to get up but Okada avoids the Boma Ye and hits the Reverse Neckbreaker. Dropkick by Okada and he stomps Nakamura in the head, he picks up Nakamura and hits a suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Okada picks up Nakamura and goes for a tombstone but Nakamura blocks it. Dropkick by Okada, he picks up Nakamura and he hits a tombstone piledriver. Okada picks up Nakamura and he goes for a Rainmaker, but Nakamura blocks it into a cross armbreaker takedown. Nakamura keeps the hold applied but Okada kicks Nakamura in the head to get out of it. Nakamura hits the Boma Ye to the back of Okada’s head. Both wrestlers slowly get up and they trade elbows. Nakamura gets the better of it but Okada knocks Nakamura to the mat. Okada picks up Nakamura and hits an uppercut, knee by Nakamura and an Irish whip, reversed, and Okada hits a dropkick. Okada picks up Nakamura, Irish whip, but Nakamura collapses before he reaches the ropes. Okada picks up Nakamura, Irish whip, but Nakamura avoids the dropkick this time and hits the Boma Ye. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Nakamura goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a jumping Boma Ye. He waits for Okada to get up and charges him, but Okada hits a dropkick. Okada picks up Nakamura and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Okada goes for the Rainmaker but Nakamura knees him in the stomach. Nakamura goes for a kick but Okada catches it, punches by Nakamura and he picks up Okada, he goes for the Landslide but Okada reverses it with a backslide for a two count. Lariat by Okada, he picks up Nakamura and he hits a second lariat. Okada picks up Nakamura and nails the Rainmaker, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner and G1 Climax Champion: Kazuchika Okada

Match Thoughts: This was certainly a very entertaining match in their first singles encounter in two years. The match had the right feel to it as both wrestlers were going deep in their arsenals to pick up the win (Nakamura even at one point went for the Landslide, a move he rarely uses) and the crowd was obviously really into it. I don’t love Nakamura spamming the Boma Ye so much, he really needs a ‘big match finisher’ that doesn’t get kicked out of as it doesn’t seem fair he can hit his finisher three times but Okada only has to hit his once. Okada weakening Nakamura with a few normal lariats was a nice touch and not something he normally does, and they kept up a really good pace from start to finish. The match was actually a lot longer than it felt, as it never dragged at any point. A great match between this two and a fitting G1 Climax Finale. Score: 8.5

Final Thoughts:

Best Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. You would hope on the card that the G1 Climax Final would be the best match, and on this event it certainly was. Both wrestlers were no doubt tired and sore from the long G1 Climax, but neither really showed it as they put on a well paced and entertaining match for nearly 25 minutes. Hard hitting as one may expect but they did not rely on strike battles at all, which was a nice change of pace as well. Really great match between these two.

MVP:  Kazuchika Okada. How could it not be Okada? Winning the G1 Climax pretty much makes you the MVP by default. It also helps that no one else on this card really stood out besides him, so even if it wasn’t for the G1 Climax he probably still would have been the MVP. Okada is still so young by wrestling standards, he could easily have another 10 to 15 years on top in New Japan.

Overall: The first half of the card ranged from awful to skippable, and the Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match was disappointing. The ‘special’ singles matches weren’t bad but they didn’t really elevate above the quality of matches we have seen for the last two weeks in the G1 Climax. The G1 Climax Final was great however, which is probably the reason that most people would be watching this event in the first place. So I can give it a recommendation since the match that everyone came to see did deliver, but don’t expect anything else on the event to jump out at you as a must-see match.

Grade: B